Shelbourne manager Pat Fenlon claims that Eircom League clubs have closed the gap on their European counterparts ahead of his side's crunch Champions League tie with Steaua Bucharest tonight.
Shelbourne earned a commendable goalless draw against the Romanian champions last week, giving themselves a real chance of progressing to the third qualifying round as they did not concede an away goal.
And Fenlon, who lost twice in Romania as a player - for St Patrick's Athletic against Dinamo Bucharest and for Bohemians against Steaua - can see plenty of positives for the Irish domestic game.
He told the Irish Examiner: "We got draws in Dublin before getting tanked away when I played against Romanian sides. The Bohs one was the better one."
"We haven't progressed as much as Romanian football has since then. If you look at Steaua's team, they had quality all over the park. They had a young left-back, who was only 20 but he looked like a seasoned campaigner."
"But we have closed the gap in a fair few things. In preparation and attitude and all of that sort of stuff, we are definitely miles ahead compared to where we were in 1990 or 1992," the Shels boss insisted.
Fenlon is expected to employ the same tactics he used for the first leg, with Glen Crowe set to lead the line on his own up front as the Eircom League champions seek to grab hold of the game in midfield.
"Playing with one up front takes a lot out of the players and we'll definitely have to use all three subs. One or two of our lads may only last 60 or 70 minutes in this heat," Fenlon said.
Shels have Colin Hawkins suspended - with Jamie Harris set to deputise - but look unlikely to make any other more changes.
